"I READ THE NEWS TODAY, OH BOY - John Lennon...

(From France 24)

NUCLEAR IRAN - NUCLEAR POWER - RUSSIA

First nuclear plant soon to be operational

WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2009

Iran and Russia are ready to announce a date for Iran's first nuclear power plant to go operational. The controversial Bushehr plant was co-built by Russia despite international concerns that it would help Iran develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran was testing its long-delayed first nuclear power plant on Wednesday as it pressed ahead with its controversial atomic drive despite international sanctions.

The head of the Russian nuclear agency Sergei Kiriyenko, who is visiting Iran for the so-called pre-commissioning phase, said construction of the Russian-built plant at the Gulf port of Bushehr was now complete.

"The construction stage of the nuclear power plant is over, we are now in the pre-comissioning stage, which is a combination of complex procedures," Sergei Kiriyenko told reporters.

Iran is carrying out comprehensive tests of various equipment at the 1,000-megawatt plant which officials said involve "virtual fuel," not nuclear fuel rods.

Iran and Russia are also set to announce a date for the plant to go operational during the pre-commissioning ceremony, the official IRNA news agency had reported on Tuesday.

Tehran's ambitious nuclear drive has triggered a row with Western governments which suspect it is seeking to covertly build atomic weapons, a charge Iran strongly denies.

Russia took over construction at Bushehr in 1995 but completion of the plant was delayed for a number of reasons, in particular the nuclear standoff between and Iran and the international community.

Iran insists its nuclear drive is for peaceful purposes only and has rejected repeated UN Security Council calls for a halt to uranium enrichment, despite a three sets of sanctions being imposed for its defiance.

Enrichment is the process that makes nuclear fuel for power plants but can also be diverted to make the fissile core of an atomic bomb.

The start-up of the plant will be a leap forward in Iran's efforts to develop nuclear technology but is likely to further unnerve Western powers, which were rattled by the launch this month of an Iranian satellite into space on a home-built rocket.

Kiriyenko said on February 5 that the actual "technical launch" of the Bushehr plant was possible before the end of 2009 if there were no delays caused by "unforeseen circumstances."

The project was first launched by the US-backed shah of Iran in the 1970s using contractors from German company Siemens but was shelved after the Islamic revolution until Russia became involved.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last week it had been informed by Tehran that the loading of fuel into the reactor was scheduled to take place during the second quarter of 2009.

The fuel, supplied by Moscow, is currently under IAEA seal.

All the main equipment at Bushehr -- which has been installed by Russian contractor Atomstroiexport.

"Virtual fuel which does not have uranium will be loaded in the core of the reactor," the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Saeedi, told state television.

"The main units, especially the primary circuit, back-up systems and sub-units are tested to remove any failure that could happen in the commissioning stage," he said.

The IAEA, which has been investigating Iran's nuclear activities for six years, said in a report issued last Thursday that Tehran is continuing to enrich uranium, but has slowed down the expansion of its enrichment activities.

In all, IAEA inspectors had been able to verify that Iran has accumulated 839 kilogrammes (1,846 pounds) of low-enriched uranium. And Iran had told the IAEA that it had added another 171 kilogrammes this month.

Estimates vary, but analysts calculate that anywhere between 1,000-1,700 kilogrammes would be needed to convert into high-enriched uranium suitable for one bomb.

Are we facing an impending clash of civilisations ?

It is remarkable and ironical to note that the Islamists ( The Talebans ,Jihadists,etc) once hailed as Holy Warriors and liberators when they were recruited ,trained and armed by the C.I.A to fight the Soviets in Aghanistan ,are now the enemy and are deemed part of the evil empire!

Is it safe to conclude then that it is not even a clash of ideologies,or any more a clash of civilisations  but just an obscene spectacle  of power play - a return of The Cold War,  Part II ?
And if Iran with the help of Russia is allowed to do the unthinkable - to possess a nuclear bomb - help the Islamists take over the Middle Eastern countries,how will Israel react ?

Is the world staring at an eventual conflict between Russia and the Middle Eastern countries with their fossil fuel technology  against the United States and Europe with their Green technology - with Asia and the rest caught in the middle ?
With the battle being fought in Afganistan, right at its doorstep, will Pakistan be dragged into it and when that happens, how will India react?


CHINA

Working in a Chinese sweatshop for HP, Microsoft, Dell and IBM

A report issued by human rights activists reveals that young migrant workers are labouring under sweatshop conditions for IBM, Microsoft, HP and Dell in a factory in China. Twelve hours a day, seven days a week, the people who put your keyboard keys into place are paid 60 euro cents an hour to do it. And they're not even allowed to raise their heads or go to the toilet...Taiwanese-owned Meitai factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong province (southeast), employs two thousand young workers, 75% of them women, to produce computer equipment including keyboards and printer cases for Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft and IBM (as we go to press IBM and Dell are yet to confirm this). The damning research, published online by theNational Labor Committee, was carried out between June and September of 2008, and updated mid January 2009. When we contacted the companies cited in the report, only Microsoft and HP replied to say that they had been made aware of the report. Both gave similar statements about their commitment to the "fair treatment and safety" of workers contracted to produce their software.

They’re not even allowed to raise their heads or put their hands in their pockets

Charles Kernaghan is one of the National Labor Committee members who worked on the report.

The young workers sit on hard wooden stools twelve hours a day, seven days a week as 500 computer keyboards an hour move down the assembly line, or one every 7.2 seconds.  

They're allowed just 1.1 seconds to snap each key into place, repeating the same operation 3,250 times an hour, 35,750 times a day, 250,250 times a week and over one million times a month.All overtime is mandatory, with 12 hour shifts seven days a week and an average of two days off a month. A worker daring to take a Sunday off - which is supposedly their weekly holiday - will be docked 2 ½ days' wages. Including unpaid overtime, workers are at the factory on average 81 hours a week, which exceeds China's legal overtime limit by 318 percent! A worker toiling 75 hours a week will earn a take-home wage of $57.19 [€45], or 76 cents [60 euro cents] an hour including overtime and bonuses.   

In mid-2008, the Meitai factory was advertising for workers with a huge want ad posted outside the factory: "Meitai Company seeks large numbers of female workers ages 18-35 for 1200-1500 RMB [€137 - €171] a month" [not including overtime].Other factories in the area have similar working conditions, but what's so shocking about this one, is the restraints on liberty. Workers are prohibited from talking, listening to music, going to the toilet on shift. They're not even allowed to raise their heads or put their hands in their pockets. They're fined for being one minute late or for failing to trim their fingernails, as this could impede their work. They're searched on the way in and out of the factory, and those who hand out flyers or discuss factory conditions with outsiders are fired. When they leave a room, they stand up together and walk out in single file. 

'Employees shall maintain the factory image... Employees shall dress in clean and appropriate clothes... not post flyers in the company, should not walk on green areas or plants...'.One worker summed up the general feeling in the factory:  'I feel like I am serving a prison sentence.' 

Ten to twelve workers share each crowded dorm room, sleeping on narrow metal bunk beds that line the walls. They drape old sheets over their cubicle openings for privacy. Workers are locked in the factory compound four days a week and are prohibited from even taking a walk. 

Names of workers fined for not cleaning their dorms are displayed on a whiteboard. The bathroom with a squat toilet. In the winter, workers have to walk down several flights of stairs to fetch hot water in a small plastic bucket, which they carry back to their rooms to take a sponge bath.  

To symbolize their ‘improving lives' the workers are served a special treat on Fridays - a small chicken leg and foot. For breakfast, they are given watery rice gruel.  [Photo]Workers are only given 15 minutes to eat lunch.

The other factories in the area have given their staff a week off for New Year (which is equal in importance to Thanksgiving and Christmas combined for North Americans). But the Meitai factory has only given three days off, which makes it impossible for the staff to get home and back. They're all migrant workers. I think the factory fears that if workers leave for a home with a month's wages, they'll never come back.  

What's also shocking is that this factory deals with such big names. If there's one factory these companies should pay any attention to, then it's this one. While Microsoft is fighting to protect its trademark in China, it cares very little about any laws that might protect the workers who actually make the software. Dell, HP and IBM have all promised to do something. But all they'll do is put in place ‘monitors' in the factory. These workers are terrified; they won't dare tell them anything. It's not because they're in love with the Chinese people that these companies are here; it's because people in China can be forced to work for nothing, and they're not going to fight against that. Meanwhile, China is sacrificing these young workers to build a middle class which they themselves will never see.

To get hold of this information we had people inside the factory, but we can't openly discuss our research methods. We did the interviews with workers off campus. Some of them do come to human rights and health and safety organisations on their day off. But they're very cautious. The organisations have to keep moving around so they're not tracked by the factories. And most of the workers have never even heard the word ‘union' - they think it's a breakfast meeting. The workers have no healthcare to speak of. They're hanging by a shoestring. Of course they're hoping to move on to a better job. But with the financial crisis, it will be even harder to find another job now. Twenty million migrant workers have just been made redundant in China. It's a difficult, miserable situation.

"Is this what globalisation is all about  - exploitation of cheap labour - modern day slavery ???

Top bankers face grilling after fraud squad raids
Wednesday February 25 2009

FORMER leading bankers at Anglo Irish are expected to be questioned by gardai after fraud squad officers raided the bank's headquarters yesterday.Senior detectives said last night it now appeared "inevitable" that some leading bankers would face questioning.This is expected to happen once an investigation led byDirector of Corporate Enforcement Paul Appleby has gathered enough information about dealings at the bank.Former Anglo chairman Sean FitzPatrick last night told theIrish Independent he had "no comment" on the garda raids.

Mr Appleby's investigation has already been fast-tracked after the acting Financial Regulator Mary O'Dea revealed yesterday she had agreed to share all of the information her office has gathered on Anglo Irish's dealings.Garda fraud squad officers, acting for Mr Appleby, raided three buildings at Anglo Irish's headquarters on St Stephen's Green in Dublin yesterday morning after getting warrants to search for books, documents, computer files and computer hard drives.Informed sources said investigators were looking for evidence of any breaches of the Companies Act in relation to secret loans to directors and the controversial €451m loan to a 'golden circle' to buy shares in the bank.However, they added that Mr Appleby would not exclude any other issues if evidence of illegality is uncovered.

Legal experts said last night that a series of possible prosecutions could result from the investigation, including charges relating to the failure to keep proper books of account and breaches of rules relating to directors' loans.Mr Appleby can also bring charges if an individual or group financially interested in the success or failure of the bank tried to influence the bank's policy.Meanwhile, it is understood it is "highly unlikely" Sean FitzPatrick will now be compelled to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs. This is due to fears that it might prejudice the ongoing investigation into Anglo Irish Bank. The committee had been planning to seek powers to compel Mr FitzPatrick to attend, after he cited legal reasons for his refusal to attend earlier this month.Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised last month after the share price plummeted amid a wave of controversies, including a loans-for-shares scandal, revelations about secret loans to former chairman Sean FitzPatrick and a multibillion-euro deposit from an apparent rival bank to boost its books.

Anglo Irish officials refused to comment last night. The bank had already agreed to engage with Mr Appleby before yesterday's development and had indicated it would cooperate fully with any investigation.A team of 16 gardai joined staff from the director's office in yesterday's searches. The terms of the warrant mean they can have access to Anglo Irish's offices for a month and any material seized can be kept for an unlimited period of time.A team of 25 officers from the Financial Regulator, which is conducting a parallel investigation, were already on site.Yesterday's dramatic developments followed repeated opposition calls for the garda fraud squad to become involved.

Two Fianna Fail TDs, Thomas Byrne and Michael McGrath, had also written directly to Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy last week to add their voices to the clamour.However, the Government had insisted that the Director of Corporate Enforcement had to be allowed to carry out his work and in the end it was Mr Appleby's decision to bring in the gardai.

The director's action looks set to take some of the political pressure off the Government, who can now reassure a rebellious public that "something is being done".Justice Minister Dermot Ahern TD said the Government was operating "the rule of law"."As far as I am concerned that provides that whether you have a balaclava and a sawn-off shotgun or a white collar and designer suit the same rules apply," he said.- Shane Phelan, Michael Brennan and Dearbhail McDonald.

The hounds are loose and they are crying for blood !